ITPEC FE Morning October 2022 Question 43

Source exam: ITPEC FE Morning October 2022Topic: Security

ITPEC FE Morning October 2022 — Question 43 of 80

Message Authentication Code (MAC) — confirm message integrity and authenticity.

MAC is a short piece of data attached to a message that lets the receiver verify:
- The message has not been altered (integrity)

- The message came from the claimed sender (authenticity)

MAC uses a shared secret key — both sender and receiver must know it.

Why not others:
- (a) Check encryption method — MAC does not verify encryption; it verifies integrity

- (b) Check the overview — not a meaningful security function

- (d) Secure confidentiality — confidentiality is achieved through encryption, not MAC

Key rule: MAC = integrity + authenticity. Encryption = confidentiality. Don't mix them up.

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